Monday 4 March 2013 10.02 EST
First published on Monday 4 March 2013 10.02 EST

England are ready to unleash Steven Finn on New Zealand's Test batsmen, bowling using his new, improved, short run. The Kiwis, meanwhile, were blown off course in windy Dunedin on Monday by a mysterious foot injury for one of Finn's opposite numbers Doug Bracewell.

New Zealand Cricket management will liaise with the players' association to ascertain exactly how their frontline seamer came to gash a foot on a piece of glass, apparently clearing up after a party at home in Napier over the weekend. Radio Sport reported that Bracewell's neighbours complained the revelry was out of control.

England merely need to complete their preparations for the first of three Tests, in the hope that the return of Finn and James Anderson – both rested for the loss against a New Zealand XI in Queenstown – can help them to victory.

Finn has taken much persuading over the past three years to cut down his run, but he took the plunge in back-to-back one-day international victories last month and was rewarded with aggregate figures of four for 60.

The theory is that the 6ft 8in fast bowler's new 12-stride approach will eradicate a speed wobble as he nears the stumps, and stop him knocking the bails off with his knee – a habit which has already cost him two international wickets and will result in a change to the Laws of Cricket. From October at the latest – sooner if the International Cricket Council choose to alter its playing conditions in accordance with the MCC's ruling – any bowler who dislodges the stumps in delivery at the non-striker's end will be called for a no-ball rather than a dead-ball. An extra runs penalty will therefore be incurred, so England are doing all that they can to avoid any further consequences of 'Finn's Law'.

It is still unproven whether his shortened run will aid his bowling more generally, but the evidence from two matches is encouraging enough for Finn to try his new method for the first time in Test cricket. He gave New Zealand's ODI opener Hamish Rutherford – set for a Test debut at the University Oval – a torrid time in Napier and Auckland in new-ball spells off his short run.

"Obviously, I've got the old run to go back to if I need it," he said. "But it felt good in the one-day series. I bowled with it in practice every day, and it feels good. We'll see what happens in the Test matches. But my first over will be off the shorter run."

"It is geared towards being more consistent, being able to bowl for longer spells and longer in the day and keep myself as fresh as possible. I think it allows me to be stronger at the crease, in a better position. I felt like I got more bounce off the shorter run. Whether that just happened on those wickets or whether it was the shorter run that was doing it, I don't know. Over a longer period of time, I'll be able to assess that and tell. But it certainly felt as though I was more compact at the crease and more controlled. It felt good."

Finn has been pushing his speed up into the mid-90s mph – and if the unusually strong wind persists in Dunedin this week, three-figures could even be on his radar. The snag is that seniority dictates Anderson may yet have choice of ends, but it is hard to believe England will deploy their fastest bowler into a headwind.

New Zealand will be thankful if Bracewell can come through a fitness test, even more so if their investigations into how he came to hurt himself uncover only misfortune. The team manager Mike Sandle appeared far from amused already at the turn of events. "I still need to ascertain the circumstances, but I am disappointed to be stood here today in front of you having to talk about it," he said. As for the suggestion it may yet turn out the consumption of alcohol played its part, Sandal added: "If that is involved I would be disappointed."